Thinking of God as our Creator (June 3, 2010)

How do you think of God’s fundamental relationship to you? Do you think of Him as a Guide? A Parent? A Friend? A Goal? Recently, I realized that while I do think of God as all these things, I don’t think of Him as my Creator. That seems somehow like a further step, one that places me more fully and intimately in God’s Hands.

I think this was sparked by reading about the near-death experience of a three-year-old girl. She choked on a cashew in the kitchen and then found herself out of her body, where she floated to the living room, attracted to a brilliant light there. She said, “The presence enveloped me and my joy was indescribable—as I write this I am brought back to this emotion and it delights me still. The feeling is spectacular. I did not experience this presence as God (I was too young to understand the concept) but I did experience this presence as that which made me. I knew, without a doubt that I was a made creature, a being that owed its existence to this presence.” Afterwards, she asked her mother endless questions about God. Now, as an adult, she is seeking a doctorate in Theology.

Clearly, it was a powerful realization for this girl to suddenly know “I am a made creature.” Yet is that so hard to understand? If you came fully to the same realization she did, can you not imagine it refashioning your whole sense of self?

I invite you to really reflect on this. Imagine that there is a Presence, a Mind, a Light, that intentionally brought you into being (not your body, but the spiritual essence of you). Imagine that you are truly “a made creature, a being that owed its existence to this presence.” Without this Presence, in other words, there would be no you.

I think there are two ways to go with this idea. If you don’t trust God, the idea can seem rather scary. But if you do trust Him, then it can lead to a more intimate sense of connection with Him, a feeling that your whole existence, your very being, is nothing but an act of repose in Him.